Dweorg

Dweorg

Player Strain

The Dweorges (🔊 DWORG ) inhabit south-central Otan. Legend tells that the first Dweorges were created by Woden the All-Father.

Strain	Dweorg
Scientific name	Homo Pumilius
Plural	Dweorges
Possessive	Dweorgen
Substrains	Beodweorg, Fyldweorg, Haefdweorg, Oradweorg
Language	Human, Dwarf

The Dweorges inhabit the lands and coastal waters of south-central Otan. The Dweorges maintain that they were created by Woden the All-Father and given their lands in perpetuity to hunt, till, and most importantly mine. The Dweorges are hard-working and resourceful, extracting treasures from land and sea.

The Dweorges awoke on the day of the Great Erasure to learn they had a penchant for collecting natural treasures from the earth and the sea. While some took more of a liking to venues underground, others preferred mountaintops, while still others, the open sea.

Because their penchant for collecting treasures makes for an imbalanced economy, the Dweorges have become expert traders out of necessity. Manufactured goods, clothing, and nearly every commodity that is not made of metal can usually find a buyer in Dweorgen territory.

Society and Culture

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Dweorges have a strong work ethic and you'll find few displaced souls in Dweaorgen society. Even the most infirm of the Dweorges can separate chunks of ore on a tray. There is so much work to be done that most Dweorges pray for more time to make more Dweorges.

Dweorgen festivals are celebrated with feasts and games much as any other culture on Otan, however, there is a twist. The honors and prizes are often very numeric in nature. The highest yield of this, or the best ratio of that. The greatest yield increase or fewest work stoppages are feats to be celebrated.

Deeper cultural variances are seen in the substrains which occupy four distinct terrains, the city, the mountains, the mines, and the sea. Each of these will have unique celebrations and traditions following their ways of life.

Physical Characteristics

Dweorges typically stand about 3/4ths the height of an average human. They can range greatly in girth, however, with some Dweorges looking no different than a miniaturized human. Most Dweorges have an endomorphic physique with stout bodies and limbs that appear overly muscular for their size.

Their complexions can vary from fair to very dark, a feature often determined by their substrain. The Oradweorges in particular have darker skin, which is assumed to offer them protection from radiation in deep mines. Hair and eye color vary from blonde to black with the Oradweorges again providing the exception with white hair; researchers have yet to determine a reason for their white hair.

Natural and Latent Abilities

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Dweorgen physiology is very similar to Human, leaving Dweorges with few abilities not found in humankind. Oradweorges often possess low-light vision. Those who possess it must protect their eyes in regular light.

Beodweorges are less susceptible to difficulties when breathing in high altitudes and Haefdweorges can swim and hold their breaths for incredible lengths of time underwater

History

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There was little upheaval among Dweorges at the time of the Great Erasure. Dweorges who found themselves in mines continued to mine. These instinctual habits were deeper in them than mere memory. Their bodies knew what to do.

In the 260 years since the Great Erasure the Dweorges have not participated in any major wars outside their borders. Inside their borders, the story has been different. Dweorges have always competed with Giants, the latter who mostly want to be left alone. Unfortunately for the Giants, they often make their homes in places Dweorges wish to mine.

Conflicts between Dweorges have not always lead to war. Their territorial disputes sometimes end in trades or other negotiations, though the Dweorges invariably get the better end of most deals. Giants are not shrewd negotiators. In war, however, the Giants fare much better and their high cost in Dweorgen lives leads the Dweorges to negotiate generously when it is an option.

International Relations

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The Dweorges are generally respected throughout Otan. In matters of trade, they have but a single bias, which is those willing to trade the most for their wares. Dweorges maintain a steady trade with the Garis, who trade with no one else. They also trade with the Aydahar, who are somewhat too frightening for most other people to communicate with.

Dweorgen Substrains

Beodweorg Substrain

Description:The Beodweorges (🔊 BAY-oh-DWORG) are a stout folk who keep to the mountains in the League of Dweorgen Miners territory. Dweorges have a sense of humor, but not when their territory is threatened.

Overview:The Beodweorges, or Mountain Dweorges, are a high-altitude substrain of the Homo Mechanicus family, defined by their lofty settlements and cooperative industries. While they share the compact, powerful frame of all Dweorges, they have shunned the deep caverns of the Oradweorges and the churning oceans of the Haefdweorges in favor of Otan’s most jagged peaks.

Life in these thinning atmospheres has fostered a culture that is famously boisterous and community-oriented, where the labor of the day is often synchronized to communal songs and the evenings are dominated by the raucous social life of the tavern. Physically, the Beodweorges are perfectly adapted to the crushing pressures and high-gravity demands of mountain life. Their compact size makes them remarkably agile in precarious environments, and their physical durability is paired with a natural mechanical aptitude.

To navigate the steep, treacherous passes of their homeland, they rely on sturdy, sure-footed yaks. This reliance on traditional beast-of-burden transport stands in striking contrast to their advanced engineering, creating a unique sight: a rugged Beodweorg caravan of yaks hauling high-tech components up a mountainside.

Because the Beodweorges prefer the isolation of the highest altitudes, they have developed a sophisticated mastery of the skies through the use of airships. These vessels are not merely tools for transport but are central to the survival and dominance of the Mountain Dweorg clans, allowing them to traverse peaks that even a yak cannot scale. These airships represent the pinnacle of their collaborative spirit, as clans regularly gather their finest Tinkers, Wizards, and shipwrights to manufacture these massive, sky-faring fortresses.

The production of a Beodweorg airship is a grand, multi-disciplinary feat of engineering and arcane science. While the Tinkers focus on the "elbow grease and steam" of the vessel's propulsion and clockwork systems, the Wizards provide the essential magic and battlefield wards required to protect the ships from high-altitude predators or rival incursions.

This synthesis of mechanical precision and magical shielding ensures that Beodweorg airships are among the most formidable sights in Otan's skies, floating testaments to the industrious harmony of the Beodweorg clans.

Fyldweorg Substrain

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Description:The Fyldweorges (🔊 FEEL-dworg) are the most common variety of Dweorges, inhabiting the Dweorgen plains, cities, and any open area where Dweorges can be found.

Overview:

Haefdweorg Substrain

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Description:The Haefdweorges (🔊 AF-dworg) are born with sea legs. These stout folk make their livings on or below the deep ocean. The jewels of the sea are their quarry and they stop at little to acquire the riches there for the taking.

Overview:

Oradweorg Substrain

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Description:The Oradweorges (🔊 OR-uh-dworg) live their entire lives underground. They have little to do with the topside world except to trade minerals and gems for goods, particularly food.

Overview:

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